


where you are

by aeriamamaduck



Series: Alyosha [14]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Depression, Domestic Fluff, Fatherhood, Fluff, Future Fic, Grief/Mourning, Love, M/M, Married Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Parenthood, Post-Canon, alyosha doesn't show up but he's mentioned, catsitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 12:46:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15461688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: A time for grief and moving on.





	where you are

**Author's Note:**

> fluff for the weekend

Yuuri took his headphones off in time to hear his phone buzzing, and he suddenly remembered Victor's earlier call.

 

 _Oh right,_ he thought as he unlocked the screen, a soft laugh escaping him at the sight of the text from Yurio.

 

**YURIO:**

**OPEN YOUR FUCKING DOOR GODDAMN IT**

 

Closing his laptop, Yuuri quickly headed towards the door, insides giving a sort of flinch when he didn't see a poodle scrabbling at the door, wanting to see who was at the other side. 

 

He opened the door and met Yurio's grumpy eyes, glaring at him with impatience as he bent down to pick up the carrier containing a likely just-as-grumpy cat. "I was ringing the bell for a whole minute, you gigantic ass."

 

Yuuri flushed guiltily. "Sorry, I had my headphones on." He'd spent the better part of the morning laying out tentative plans for the following year, listening to potential musical pieces and thinking of what the choreography could be, periodically checking the time on his phone and answering texts from friends. Then Victor had called to let him know Yuri's grandfather's truck had been rear-ended out on the road. A minor accident, but doctor's were still checking him over and Yuri had obviously wanted to go and check up on him, leaving practice early.

 

Potya would need looking after in the meantime, and taking her to Lilia was out of the question since she was focused on Yakov. "And I'm sorry about your grandpa. How's he doing?" he asked the younger man, stepping aside to let him in.

 

"Still yelling my ear off about the guy that rear-ended him. Pretty sure he'd gonna be okay," Yuri replied with a smirk, opening the carrier door to let his cat out. Both of them bemusedly watched Potya sniff at the air, like she was re-familiarizing herself with a place she hadn't been to in a few weeks. She leaped onto the couch and sniffed at Alyosha's bear. Alyosha had met her before, a bit more wary of her than he had been with Makkachin, but they got along. Even so, Yurio turned to look at Yuuri and asked, "Sure you're gonna be okay taking care of this furry garbage disposal?"

 

"Yeah, it's no problem," Yuuri replied, reaching down to let Potya sniff his fingers for a moment until she rubbed her head against his palm. 

 

Yurio observed them for another moment before saying, "Victor's gonna come home soon too. He and Mila are just doing some more work on her free skate."

 

"Alright. It'll be nice to go pick Alyosha up together," Yuuri said as he took the bag of cat supplies Yurio offered him and followed him to the door. "Do you need anything?" he asked, concerned.

 

Yurio paused and bit his lip, looking over his shoulder and asking, "Is it okay if I call?" 

 

Yuuri couldn't help but smile at him, reminded of the way he'd been so surprised by the once-acerbic boy by every surprising show of vulnerability. "Of course it is. Hang on a second," he told him, dashing into the kitchen to retrieve something important. Seconds later he handed Yurio a pair of protein bars, his favorite. "For the train."

 

"Thanks," Yuri said with a small smile. He knelt down to pick Potya up and nuzzle her head, muttering, "Try not to destroy everything, okay?"

 

Yurio left with his phone to his ear, and Yuuri closed the door just as Potya let out a high-pitched chirp, like she was outraged that she'd been left behind. Smiling down at her with sympathy, Yuuri decided to fill her water and food bowls before setting up her litter box.

 

Later, Yuuri was back on his laptop on the bed, Potya curled up in a softly vibrating ball beside him. He tapped his pencil against the still-blank notebook page on his lap, save for a single word he'd written and underlined several times. As ambitious as he felt, this part was still a challenge.

 

Absorbed as he was by the music playing through his headphones, Yuuri barely noticed the mattress dipping until he felt a familiar pair of soft lips brushing against his cheek. Yuuri gave a surprised jolt, tugging his headphones off as he realized Victor was sitting on the bed beside him. "You're home!" he exclaimed with a smile of welcome.

 

Victor pressed a quick kiss to Yuuri's lips, peeking over to his other side to meet Potya's curious gaze. "How is the little princess?" he asked with a wide smile.

 

"Just purring up a storm. I got the music today," Yuuri told him, handing Victor his headphones and pulling up the music again.

 

Placing the headphones over his ears, Victor listened with eyes closed in thought. He nodded approvingly before taking the headphones off. "It sounds lovely. Any idea what your theme will be?"

 

Yuuri showed him the notebook, thumb tapping at the word he'd underlined. "'Beginnings', maybe. It kind of goes against my plans to retire next year, but I thought it sounded appropriate," he said with a small shrug, his mind racing with excitement. 

 

"I know that look," Victor said with a brightly curious look, idly petting Potya after she clambered across Yuuri's lap to reach Victor. "What are you thinking about,  _detka?"_

 

Smirking, Yuuri closed the laptop again and set it aside, lying down on his back with a soft sigh and waiting for Victor to join him. Potya eased her way between them, such a contrast to...

 

Ah. Yuuri had almost forgotten, and he supposed that hurt almost as much as the actual event. It still hung over them, and there'd been so little time to mourn due to all the competition and because they had a son to think about too.

 

He turned to look at Victor, recognizing every familiar sign of exhaustion on Victor's face, especially in and around his eyes. He had more headaches, and had even stayed in bed for an entire day and a half while Yuuri worried about him. It was one of the things that contributed to Yuuri's decisions about the coming year. He gathered his thoughts and replied, "You know, these past couple of years, skating without you competing has been...something else. But it's been good to skate just because  _I_ wanted to do it as long as possible. And best of all you were still by my side the entire time."

 

"Of course I was," Victor said softly, reaching over Potya's small form to clasp his and Yuuri's hands together. "So there's really nothing that'll convince you to stay on for a few more years?" he asked with a little pout.

 

Yuuri snorted softly, gazing at that pout with fondness. "I think I'll end my competitive years on a good note. A golden note," he added determinedly. "Besides, if you're going to take on more students eventually, you'll probably need a hand. Especially if you want to spend even more time with Alyosha."

 

He didn't expect a transition to coaching to be at all simple. He'd miss competition, but he'd known for a long time that the time to retire was quickly approaching, and their lives had changed enough that that time had come much sooner. One more year of skating was a luxury at this point, but after that he'd say goodbye to it. One more year to prepare.

 

Victor hadn't had that long, expecting a few more years before his accident changed all of that. As excited as they both were about everything that was to come, there was a very obvious cloud hanging over them. Yuuri could feel his throat tighten at the reminder. He'd said goodbye, but he'd forgotten that he'd probably need to say that goodbye more than once. 

 

"How are you?" he asked Victor, concerned.

 

Blinking at him a few times, Victor replied slowly, "I'm...fine."

 

Yuuri made no reply, meeting his gaze and seeing the exhaustion and grief. Remnants of that painful look of loss when Victor held Makkachin for the last time.

 

It took a few moments, but then Victor relented, taking Potya in his arms and nuzzling her head much like Yurio had earlier. He turned onto his back, letting Potya lie on his belly, and said quietly, "...Maybe I need to see Sergei again."

 

"Okay," Yuuri said, sensing something else. "...But...?"

 

Victor closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, like he was slowly letting out all of the heaviness in his heart. "It's just...It's been a few months my last session, and...I worry about what Alyosha might think."

 

"Oh," Yuuri breathed, reaching up to place a soothing hand on Victor's cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb as he thought of what he could possibly say to that. "I think...he'd be more preoccupied with seeing you feeling well. He notices the bad days, you know, and it's pretty obvious you aren't feeling okay. And these past few weeks...you've been so busy and on the move...I'm worried about you."

 

Victor was silent for a moment, scratching lightly between Potya's ears before he finally said, "I miss him."

 

Yuuri could feel his worry begin to dissipate at that, replaced by his own grief. "I know. I do too."

 

They shared it quietly, Potya rubbing her head against Victor's fingers almost appreciatively. Then Victor pouted again and said, "I wish I didn't make you worry. Especially when your birthday's a few days away, and-"

 

"Hey, it's our job to worry about each other," Yuuri reminded him, moving closer to press a kiss to Victor's cheek.

 

Then Victor yelped, "Ow!"

 

Yuuri drew back in surprise. "What?"

 

Victor's face was caught between a wince and amusement as he laughed, "She's kneading my shirt!"

 

Sure enough Yuuri looked down at Potya to find her kneading with her claws out, drawing a laugh from him too as he tried to dislodge her from Victor's shirt. 

**Author's Note:**

> grandpa and his truck are okay i swear


End file.
